


you don't have to act like you're alone (like the walls are closing in around you)

by AuraSweet13



Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: F/M, No warnings are needed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 13:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11578812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuraSweet13/pseuds/AuraSweet13
Summary: Once Uma's angry and vengeful high wears off, all that's left in its wake is a sadness she's never felt before. An emptiness. Luckily, a certain hooked young man is there to remind her that she isn't alone, in a time when she needs it most. A Huma one-shot set after the movie, heavily inspired by the song All About You by Birdy, because I swear this song was written for Huma, that's how perfect it is for them.





	you don't have to act like you're alone (like the walls are closing in around you)

Uma could hear it. The party going on, from the yacht. The laughter, the music. The party that she had actually gotten the chance to be a part of. Of course, she'd had an ulterior motive. But at the same time...

She would sooner die than say this, but there was a part of her that had actually enjoyed being a part of it all. Enjoyed wearing a pretty dress, dancing with a guy who, for a goody-two-shoes, really wasn't as insufferable as she had been expecting.

She thought of Ben's kind words, his earnest expression, before she'd spelled him with the help of Mal's book and her mother's necklace.

_"You're a leader, Uma. So am I. Come to Auradon, and be part of the solution."_

_"Uma, I promise I'll give you your chance. You'll have your say."_

No one had ever said anything like that to her before. And she found that she believed him, despite everything she had been taught told her. She thought of the way her heart had felt like it was breaking when she placed the ring in his palm.

Her eyes were stinging. Hot, angry, perhaps a little sad as well, tears spilled down her cheeks.

She wanted to scream in frustration. She was Uma. She didn't cry.

(At least, she hadn't let herself cry since Mal and the others had taken off to Auradon and never looked back.)

Mortified, and angrier than ever, she sank below the waves, letting the familiar rush of the surf drown everything else out. At least the sea had never let her down.

 

Uma resurfaced on the Isle, wearing her blue dress and feeling like a child who had been playing dress up. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but she hadn't factored in that she might actually have to go back to the Isle looking like this.

The tiny silver lining was that, thanks to her dip in the ocean, all traces that she had been crying were gone from her face. But her crew still couldn't see her right now. No one could. She'd be the laughing stock of the Isle in no time, looking like this.

Her first order of business, however, was getting her hair out of this bun. She reached up and carefully but purposefully untied her hair, letting the familiar braids fall around her face. She shook her head to get them back to how they usually were, already feeling more like herself.

Her mind was going a mile a minute, trying to think of a place where she could go to change. She could go around the back of the restaurant, maybe. But even then, there was no guarantee that she wouldn't run into any patrons.

An unfamiliar hopelessness started to swell up in her as she walked, as if she were in a trance. It felt as though her throat had closed up, and she could barely breathe.

"Captain?" An achingly familiar voice, tinged the slightest bit with an accent, came from behind her.

Harry.

Uma squeezed her eyes shut, trying to muster up all the anger and ferocity that she could. "Go away. I'm not in the mood." She got out. To her horror, her voice was thick with unshed tears.

She had let him down.

She had  _let them all down._

That was just insult to injury at this point.

Uma expected to hear him walking away. But there were no footsteps walking away from her. Instead, she heard them  _coming towards_ her. She opened her mouth to snap at him again, to scream at him to leave her alone, but any words she had been thinking up died on her lips when she felt fabric drape over her back.

Harry's jacket.

"Come on, let's find you somewhere to change." She heard him murmur, and she glanced over to see him looking at her with a serious expression on his face. This was uncharacteristic of him, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. There was concern shining in his silver eyes.

In spite of herself, of who she was, she felt her heart warm at the way he stuck close to her. Like he was guarding her.

Maybe he was.

"I used Mal's book." She whispered as they walked. "But I left it on the yacht."

He nodded, still uncharacteristically quiet and soft. Contemplative. "Okay, we'll figure something out." The pair of them walked quickly and quietly, his much taller frame shielding her from any prying eyes.

His jacket was warm on her suddenly cold body, though she found herself wishing it had sleeves.

People on the Isle joked that she actually had cold blood.

But she didn't. She needed warmth, just like everyone else.

Though she was able to dry the water from her body with the help of her mother's necklace, the failure to get her crew off the Isle to a better life, the brief snippet she'd gotten of what she'd never known she wanted, what she'd never  _thought_ she wanted, left her cold to the bone.

 

Neither of them said a word as they walked to the ship. Which was probably better. Uma was feeling decidedly un-Uma-like right now, and she wasn't sure what she would say if she did speak.

She wasn't prepared for how the crew turning to look at her would make her feel. She could only imagine how she looked right now.

Dressed up all pretty and preppy like she was, though Harry's coat did a good job of hiding the dress she wore, she probably looked more Auradon than Isle. The thought made her feel sick.

"What are you all looking at?!" Harry snapped, causing all of them to turn away and go back to their duties. Uma exhaled a sigh that was half relieved, half thankful, as they made their way to her quarters. Harry opened the door for her, and she hurried down the stairs into the quarters. "Captain, do you want me to stay out here?" He asked, and she turned to look at him.

"It's nothing you haven't seen before." She responded. The two of them had spent the night together on more than one occasion, a result of alcohol and loneliness-not that she'd ever admit to being lonely. But she closed the door anyway, to give herself a chance to get back to her hardened captain's facade. She changed out of the dress and back into her usual clothes as quickly as possible, ending with her tricorn hat. Once that was done, she hurled the dress in the back of her wardrobe. Picking up Harry's jacket, she folded it over her arms and brought it back out to him.

"Looking good, Captain." Harry spoke, smirking in his usual, familiar way as he slipped into his jacket. The expression twisted her heart in a way that was almost painful. He stopped smirking once he got a good look at her face. "Uma?"

Her vision blurred. Making a split second decision, she grabbed him by his jacket and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind her. This was the most vulnerable she had been in a long time. "I let you all down, Harry." She murmured. "No one is going to take me seriously after this."

"I will, Uma." Harry responded. "And I think everyone else will, too. That was the closest we've ever come to getting off this island.  _You_ did that." He gestured to her bed. "Here, sit down." He told her, and she did. Then he sat beside her, wrapping his arm around her. She shifted to rest her head on his shoulder, relishing whatever comfort he wanted to give her. "Look, you're not alone. I'm right here, and the rest of the crew is right outside." He murmured.

Was it her imagination, or did she just feel his lips against her temple?

"Whatever happens, I have your back, Uma, okay?" He pulled back, and she looked at him. This was unlike him. But then, this vulnerability was unlike her, too.

"Harry, will you...will you stay?" She asked, barely able to even recognize her voice. That was how quiet it was. "I don't want to be alone right now."

"As you wish." Harry didn't so much as flinch. He stood up, and she moved up to lie down on her bed. It wasn't the biggest, but neither was she, so it worked for her.

She laid down, and in no time at all, he had joined her, lying so they were face to face. "Thank you." She whispered. Uma decided to take a chance in that moment, closing the minimal distance between them and wrapping her arms around him, resting her cheek against his chest. She could hear the rhythmic beating of his heart.

For a moment, she thought this would scare him off, but she should've known better than to doubt her first mate. Her right hand man.

His arms slid around her, and she relished the heat of his arms through her sleeves.

"Thank you, Harry." Uma repeated, her tone still a whisper. She hadn't used that much magic before now in, well, ever, and she was exhausted. She covered her mouth with her hand to stop a yawn from escaping.

Her eyes fluttered closed as she felt Harry's hand run down her back. "You're welcome, Uma." His voice was softer than usual, music to her ears in that moment. "If you want to sleep, go ahead. I think you've earned it, Captain." Yeah, she definitely felt his lips against her skin this time. Her cheeks burned. "I'll make sure no one bothers you. And tomorrow we can figure out a way to get our revenge on Auradon."

Uma opened her mouth to say no, she was fine, she didn't need to sleep. But another yawn slipped out instead. So she just nodded. "Sounds like a plan." She mumbled. And then before she realized what was happening, she fell asleep in his arms, warm and safe.

Harry looked down at her. Uma looked so innocent when she slept. Though innocence was relative to the children of villains, he thought. Still, a warm smile crossed his face as he carefully stroked a couple of braids from her face. Leaning down, his lips brushed her forehead.

She did so much to make sure they all got the lives they deserved; though she liked to play the detached, badass captain, he knew that she cared deeply about them. It was about time someone started doing the same for her.

Harry was only too happy to be that person for Uma. How could he not? She was everything to him. And even if he could never work up the courage to actually tell her this, he hoped that his actions would do the talking for him.

No matter what, he would be there for her. Just like he knew she would for him.


End file.
